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J. ZIMME'R'MAN.

KEY OPENING CAN. v No. 511,487. Patented 1360,26, 189 3.

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PATENT OFF c JOHN ZIMMERMAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINois-AssIeNoR TO THE NATIONAL v KEY-OPENING CAN COMPANY, or SAME PLACE.

KEY-OPENINGCAN. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,487, dated December 26, 1893.

' Application filed Jannary 16, 1893. Serial No. 458,540. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatL-JOHN ZIMMERMAN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Key-Opening Cans; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of thisspecification. This invention has reference to a novel construction in key-opening cans of the kind in which the body of the cancontains a detachable strip formed by one or more weakened lines parallel to the end of the can.

The invention has for its primary objects to save tin in the body, simplify the construction and reduce the cost of the can.

To this end the invention consists in the combination with the body sheet, having straight edges and a weakened line orlines, of a separate strip of metal underlying the seam formed by such straight edges when made to abut or proximate'each other over it. This separate, underlying strip (which I call a seaming strip) has a tongue which is laterally detached therefrom by slits and has weakened lines formed therein in continuation of the side edges of said tongue and extending to the edge of the strip, the weakened line or lines of said strip being arranged in the seam beneath the weakened line or lines of the body sheet. 7

My invention is capable of embodiment in many forms, but the accompanying drawings illustrate said invention in those forms which I now consider the most practical.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of a can having its body constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a section in the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates the can body without the heads. Fig. 4. is a side elevation of portions of the body sheet alone, containing a detachable strip and showing the proximating or abutting edges of the body sheet or blank in the absence of the seaming strip. Fig. 5 isa side View of a portion of the seaming strip which has the tongue formed therein. Fig. 6 is an end view of said seaming strip after the tongue has been formed. Fig. 7 shows the same seaming strip narrowed except at the tongue; Fig. 8 shows a portion of a seamed can body in which a shallow notch. is provided in one edge of the body blank to accommodate the tongue upon the seaming strip and allow the edges of the said body blank to abut against or more closely proximate each other. Fig. 9 illustrates the seam- 1 ing strip with the tongue at the extreme end thereof for use in a can having a detachable strip formed by a single weakened line at a suitable distance from and parallel with the edge of the body blank or sheet. Fig. 10 shows one edge of the bodyblank when the detachable strip is at its extreme end and when the blank is notched at one of its seaming edges for a depth about equal to the thickness of the tin of the tongue. Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively a section and a side elevation of one of numerous possible modifications.

A represents the body sheet or. blank of a can and B the seaming strip. The body blank has both its edges to a straightor one of them provided with a shallow notch, as indicated by dotted lines at a in Fig. 4 and in full lines at ct in' Fig. 10. A detachable strip A is pro vided in the body blank A by the weakened line or lin'esa in the usual or any suitable manner. The seaming strip B is a narrow strip in length equal to the height of the can body and having the tongue B formed therein by one or more slits 0 cut inwardly from one edge of the strip toward and to any desired proximity to the opposite edge thereof. In cutting said slits b in the seaming strip B the tongue B, therebylaterally detached from the strip, may be offset into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 6 so that one edge of the body blank may be conveniently inserted beneath it in forming the body seam of the can or, said tongue B may be offset or bent outwardly after the cutting of the slit or slits b and by a separate operation. A weakened line or lines b is or are formed in the strip B in continuation of the slit or slits b and. extending to the undercut edge of the latter, as shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 9, said weakened line or lines being the same distance from the end of the strip and from each other, when two are employed, as the weakened line or lines a of the can body so as to coincide with the latter when the parts are conjoined.

In forming the can body from the two parts, to wit, the body blank A and the seaming strip B, the edges or, a of the body blank are brought together or suitably near to each other over the seaming strip 13 with one of said edges beneath the tongue B, as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 8, and with the weakened line or lines in the seaming strip coincident with the corresponding line or lines of the body blank. WVhile the parts are held in these positions they are soldered to each other in any suitable manner. If it be desired to avoid unnecessary surface exposure of the strip B within the can (which, however, is not objectionable, because its surface is of the same kind as that of the body sheet itself) the said strip B may be cut away to extend only a suitably short distance for soldering purposes beneath, each of the edges a a of the body sheet, as shown in full lines in Fig. 7 andin full and dotted lines in Fig. 3. In this manner any desired length of tongue may be provided without making the seaming strip widerthan is necessary.

In the construction described it is obvious that the tongue B, which belongs to the seaming strip, projects outwardly between the edges on a of the body blank, and, unless provision be made to prevent, said tongue will hold the edges a a apart a distance equal to or exceeding its thickness. While this is not objectionable, especially as the forming horn over which the body is soldered may be of suitable size to insure a uniform separation of the edges a a throughout the length of the body, I have shown at a by a dotted line in Fig. 4 and by a full line in Fig. 10, one of the edges a of the body blank notched at the end of the detachable strip A to a suflicient depth to allow the tongue 13' to protrude and at the same time permit the edges on d of the body sheet to abut each other elsewhere throughout their length.

The obvious advantages of the construction above set forth are, the requirement of no larger width or length of tin for the body blank than is sufficient to give the desired diameter of can body without lapping or folding its edges to form the seam, and that the seaming strip B may be made from material which would otherwise go to waste, of which a great abundance is available in can making and other factories.

If desired the seaming strip B having the tongue may be folded so as to protrude throughout its entire length between the edges of the body blank, as, for example, in the manner indicated in Figs. 11 and 12. In these figures a channel b is formed in the strip 13 to receive one edge of the body blank and the central portion of the seaming strip protrudes throughout its length between the edges of the body blank and overlaps one of said edges. By the use of a strip of greater original width a similar channel may obviously be formed for each edge of the body blank.

I claim as my invention- 1. A key-opening can body having a circumferential detachable strip, said body being composed of a body sheet and a seaming strip and the free tongue of the detachable strip being a part of the seaming strip, substantially as described.

2. A key-opening can body having a circumferential detachable strip, said body be ing composed of a body sheet and a seaming strip upon the same side of which latter both edges of the body sheet lap and are soldered, the seaming strip having an externally projecting free tongue and a detachable portion which is continuous with the tongue and underlies one end of the detachable part of the body sheet.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

M. E. DAYTON, ALBERT H. GRAVES. 

